Magnetic tape recording and/or reproducing system



Sept. 10, 1963 c. w. NEWELL 3,103,553

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IE I I3 El IN V EN TOR United States Patent 3,103,553 MAGNETIC TAPE RECORDING AND/0R REPRODUCENG SYSTEM Chester W. Newell, Sunnyvale, Calif., assignor to Ampex Corporation, Redwood City, Calif a corporation of California Original application Mar. 14, 1958, Ser. No. 721,472, now Patent No. 3,030,438, dated Apr. 17, 1962. Divided and this application Dec. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 158,213

8 Claims. (Cl. 178-5.4)

This invention relates generally to a magnetic tape recording and/or reproducing system and method 'and more particularly to a recording and/ or reproducing system and method suitable for recording and reproducing color video signal intelligence.

This application is a division of copending application entitled Magnetic Tape Recording and/or Reproducing System and Method, Serial No. 721,472, filed March 14, 1958, now Patent No. 3,030,438.

As is well known, the chrominance information of a color video signal is carried as a pair of frequencies which are modulated on a color sub-carrier, a two phase modulation system. The FCC standards, which were set up to permit recovery of color information from the transmitted video signal, specify in effect that phase shift of the subcarrier over one scanning interval may not exceed the absolute sub-carrier frequency cannot deviate more than three parts per million over-all and the maximum frequency drift velocity must be maintained within one-tenth cycle per second. When these three conditions are met, the receiver is enabled to appropriate- :ly recover the chrominance, Q and 1, information by conventional synchronous demodulation techniques. In order to enable the receiver to suitably display the luminance component (Y) with the chrominance components (Q and I) and interlace the sub-carrier sidebands on the screen, it is required that the phase shift of the sub-carrier relative to the synchronizing pulse leading edge does not exceed 45. When all of these requirements are met, the receiver is enabled to recover the chrominance information and to form a suitable color picture.

Wideband signal intelligence such as the monochrome and color video signals may be recorded magnetically on magnetic tape and thereafter reproduced to form the original signal. Suitable recordnig systems are described in copending applications Serial No. 427,138, filed May 3, 1954, now U.S. Patent No. 2,916,546; Serial No. 506,182, filed May 5, 1955, now U.S. Patent No. 2,916,547; Serial No. 524,004, filed July 25, 1955, now US. Patent No. 2,956,114; Serial No. 552,868, filed December 13, 1955, now US. Patent No. 2,921,990; Serial No. 614,420, filed October 8, 1956, now U .5. Patent No. 3,968,692; and Serial No. 636,536, filed January 28, 1957. In general the systems disclosed in said copending applications employ a relatively wide magnetic tape together with a rotating head assembly. The head assembly includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced magnetic heads which sweep successively across the tape as it is driven lengthwise. Margins of the tape are erased and serve to receive sound and control signal information. The remaining lateral extending track portions are of such length that end parts of one track at one edge of the tape contain a recording which is a duplicate of the end part of the next track at the other edge of the tape.

Apparatus of this type is suitable for recording amplitude modulated signals. However, it has been founddesirable to employ a novel form of frequency modulated carrier recording, in accordance with the system and method disclosed in copending application Serial No. 524,004.

-It is apparent that it is diflicult to maintain the pe- 3,103,553 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 ripheral velocity of the recording heads constant or, if lengthwise recording is employed in maintaining the cap stan speed constant. Any variations of these speeds lead to errors in the frequency and phase of the recorded signal intelligence. These variations may introduce timing and phase errors which are outside of the FCC standards for color broadcasting.

Another factor which may introduce phase and timing errors in the reproduced signal is the change in dimensions of the magnetic tape due to temperature changes, tension and the like. Further, the head assembly of a rotating head recording apparatus may wear down thereby giving a different peripheral velocity of the pick-up gap.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a recording and reproducing system and method suitable for recording and reproducing c'olor video information in which the timing and phase errors are maintained within the FCC standards.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording and/or reproducing system and method for electronically correcting phase and timing errorswhich arise during recording and/or reproduction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a color television recording and/ or reproducing system and method in which the reproduced signal is demodulated line by line to form the component monochrome and chrominance signals.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a color television recording and/or reproducing system and method in which the local subcarrier oscillator frequency is derived line by line from the reproduced signal and employed to demodulate the reproduced video signal line by line.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a color television signal recording 'and/ or reproducing systern and method in which the information is demodulated line by line to form the component monochrome and chrominance signals and these signals are, in turn, employed to re-modulate a new sub-carrier to form a composite color signal which is within the FCC standards.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a local oscillator whose frequency may be instantaneously controlled.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a local oscillator which responds instantaneously to information from a single color burst.

It is another object of the present invention to provide means for forming a single pulse whose position time-wise is the geometric average of the first of a given number of cycles of the color burst.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a recording 'and/ or reproducing system in which timing and phase errors introduced by the inability to maintain constant speeds, Wear, dimensional changes and the like are electronically compensated.

These and other objects of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a magnetic tape recording and/or reproducing system incorporating the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a block diagram of the circuitry for electronically correcting for phase and timing errors arising in the recording and/or reproduction of color tele vision video intelligence;

FIGURE 3 shows the Waveforms at various points in the circuit of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 shows an enlarged view of a portion of the waveform in FIGURE 3C;

FIGURE 5 shows waveforms at various points of the circuit of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 shows waveforms at various points of the circuit of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a delay line suitable for use in the apparatus of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 8 is a schematic block diagram showing a switcher suitable for performing the switching operation in the system illustrated in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 9" is a schematic block diagram showing a blanking switcher for use in the system illustrated in FIG- URE l; and

FIGURE 10 is an elevational view of a suitable transport mechanism for the magnetic tape.

Referring to FIGURES l and 10, the magnetic tape 11 is driven lengthwise past the transducing head assembly 12 by means of a capstan drive 13 acting in conjunction with a capstan idler 14. A plurality of transducing heads or units 16 are carried on the periphery of a disc or drum 18 which is driven by a synchronous motor 19. Suitable guide means 2 1 serve to hold the tape in conformity with the circular shape of the head drum whereby the tape is engaged successively by the heads as they sweep across the same.

The tape 11 is supplied from a supply reel 22 and is wound onto a take-up reel 23. The tape is guided past the transducing head assembly designated generally by the reference numeral 12 by suitable self-aligning guide posts 24 and 26, and rollers 27 and 28. The supply and takeup reels may be carried on turn-tables in accordance with customary practice. Suitable motors may be provided for the turn-table associated with the reels in accordance with customary practice.

In operation, one head is always in contact with the tape. The heads are connected to the electronic elements of the system by a commutator 29 which is schematically illustrated in FIGURE '1. The commutator may, for example, include slip rings connected to each of the heads and brushes serving to make sliding contact with the rings.

During recording of signal intelligence, the rotational velocity of the head drum 18 and of the capstan 13 are maintained with a specified relationship. During the reproducing process the relationship of rotational velocity of the head drum 18 and capstan 13 is maintained the same as during recording within narrow limits. For this purpose, a control signal is recorded on a control track along the lower edge of the tape by a magnetic transducing device 31. The control signal is recorded as a control track during recording and during reproduction it is reproduced, amplified and used to control the relative speeds of the drum and capstan in a manner to be presently described in detail. A recording head 32 serves to record the sound information on one side of the magnetic tape. Sound track and control track erase heads 33 and 34 may precede the heads 31 and 32.

The electronic circuitry illustrated in the block diagram of FIGURE 1 may be divided into the speed control circuits and the video electronic circuits. For a more clear understanding of the invention, the two circuits will be described individually.

A control frequency 36 provides the control frequency for the apparatus. For example, the frequency 36 may be the power line frequency or may be derived from a crystal controlled oscillator by means of suitable divider chronous motor 19. As previously described, the motor :19 serves to drive the head drum- 18 which carries the transducer 16.

A revolving disc 39 is also carried by the motor shaft. The disc 39 is coated half black and half white. A suitable light source 41 is focused on the disc and the light is reflected from the disc onto a photocell 42. The output of the photocell 42 is approximately a squarewave having a frequency equal to the rotational velocity of the motor 19. For the example cited, the output squarewave will have a frequency of v2.40 cycles per second. This wave is passed through a shaper '43, and applied to a frequency divider 44 which serves to divide down the frequency. For example, the divider 44 may divide by four to supply a 60' cycle frequency to the filter 46. The filter 46 is a band pass filter which forms an output signal which is substantially a sinewave. The sinewave output of the filter 46 is applied to an amplifier 47 during the recording operation. The output of the amplifier 47 is applied to a capstan motor 48. Thus, the capstan motor is driven at a rotative velocity which is directly related to the rotative velocity of the head drum 18. (The capstan is enslaved to the head drum.) The tape moves a predetermined distance lengthwise during each complete revolution of the head drum.

The output from the shaper 43 is applied through a filter 49 to a control track amplifier 51 which supplies its signal to the control track record head 31.

During reproduction the control signal 36 is again applied to the multiplier 3-7 and amplified and fed to the synchronousmotor 19. The motor drives the head drum at approximately the correct rotational velocity for the purpose of tracing the previously recorded transverse record. The photocell 42 again derives a signal which is shaped and passed through the filter 49. The signal from the filter 49 is fed to a phase comparator in the capstan servo amplifier 52. A signal is also applied to the comparator from the control track playback amplifier 53 which is fed from the control track head during reproduction. The comparator produces a resultant signal, which is a function of the phase difference between the signals from the control track and the photocell. This signal is applied through a filter to the grid of a reactance tube which is one of the frequency determining elements of a conventional Wein bridge oscillator. The oscillator functions nominally at the recording frequency (in the illustrative example, 60 cycles) but the frequency is modified up and down by the signal from the phase comparator. The output signal is fed to the amplifier 47 which drives the capstan motor and controls its rotative velocity.

The effect of this system is to cause the capstan 13 to revolve during reproduction in exactly the same relationship to the revolving drum :18, within narrow limits, as it did during the recording process. Once the drum is adjusted on the center of a track at the beginning of a reproduction, the system holds the relationship constant and the revolving heads indefinitely trace accurately the recorded transverse tracks. A suitable control system is described in copending application Serial No. 506,182, above.

As previously described, the lower portion of FIG- URE 1 includes the video electronics. The only connection between the video and control electronics is the output of the filter 49 connected to the switcher 61. The signal is employed, as will be presently described, to perform the switching operation from one playback head to the next (from one slip ring to another) during reproduction.

The record electronics can consist of suitable means for producing a modulated carrier together with suitable recording amplifiers. FM recording is preferred, although AM may he used. Assuming the use of FM recording, the record electronics can include a modulator 62 and a record amplifier 63. The output of the amplifier 63 is continuously applied to the individual head amplifier 66-69.

As described above, it is preferable to use FM recording. The type of FM recording which can be used for satisfactory recording and reproduction of video images disclosed in copending application Serial No. 524,004, filed July 25, 1955. It is also described in copending application Serial No. 552,868, filed December 13, 1955.

By Way of example, it is satisfactory for video recording to employ a center frequency of 4.5 rnegacycles together with a relative head to tape velocity of 1500 inches per second. The recording method can be described -as vistigual side band FM recording with the center frequency located at the upper end of the frequency spectrum which the system is capable of handling. Thus,

as a gradual attenuation of the upper side bands is brought about by the action of the magnetic tape and 'transducing head system.

The system employs relatively narrow band frequency modulation recording. If 7 represents the deviation corresponding to maximum signal amplitude, and fm represents the highest modulating frequency, the ratio of f/fm is relatively small, being in the order of 0.2 although it may be as high as .75. Frequency deviation from the center frequency can be such that the carrier frequency of 4.5 megacycles may depart from its center value by about '1 megacycle when the amplitude of the modulating signal is at its highest value.

Alternatively, a modulation system may be employed in which the rest frequency of the carrier is made to correspond with a given signal portion of the composite television waveform. For example, the center frequency may be considerably above the rest frequency.

A suitable type of modulator for use in frequency modulation where the deviation does not exceed 1 megacycle and where the carriers do not exceed perhaps 6 megacycles may comprise a multivibrator oscillator whose frequency is controlled by direct application of the signal to its control grid. The multivibrator output is amplified through conventional wideband amplifiers and applied to the amplifier 63 and thence to the head amplifiers 6669.

During reproduction the output of each head is fed individually to its own pre-amp-lifier 71-74 respectively. The four pre-amplifiers are connected to a switcher 6 1. From the switcher a single channel frequency modulated signal is fed to the demodulator 76-, which may be of the type previously described.

It is apparent that during reproduction it is necessary to derive the amplified output signal from one head at a time, switching from one pre-amplifier 71-74 to the next at a moment in the signal when minimum disturbance will be introduced in the reproduced signal. A11 electronic switcher may be employed. The switcher may be of the type described in copending application Serial No. 614,420, above.

Said switching system is schematically illustrated in FIGURE 8, and includes four gated tubes which act as individual switches for each of the signals from the four pro-amplifiers. Gating pulses for these tubes are derived from the initial squarewave from the photocell. The voltage is amplified and filtered and enters the switcher as a 240 cycle sinewave. The duty of the switcher is to develop trom this initial timing signal the propagating pulses necessary for switching the tubes at the proper instant in time. The tubes selected require positive voltage to be applied to both the control and suppressor grids in order to be turned on or gated.

The pulses applied to the grids are 240 cycle squarewaves each shifted by 90 with respect to the next. They allow each tube, in turn, to be ready for gating on. The actual switching time is then determined by a positive pulse applied to the suppressor grid of the respective tube. These pulses are also derived from the squarewave and are 480 cycle pulses with fast rise and decay times.

6 They are derived by doubling the frequency of the initial 240 cycle input to the switcher, and amplifying and clipping the signal three times to assure a steep wave front. These signals are applied to the suppressor grids of the tubes through a phase splitter so that alternate ones of the tubes receive in phase positive pulses and theother ones receive 180 out of phase positive pulses. Only the tube which has coincidence of both the 240 cycle gate pulse and a 480 cycle keying pulse is gated on. A variable phase splitter is provided on the 240 cycle input signal to control the relative phasing between the signals and the switching function. 7

Provision is also rnade to regulate the switching time so that it occurs during the horizontal retrace of a video signal. Timing information is supplied from a separate unit called the blanking switcher (FIGURE 9) to be presently described, and is fed into the 480 cycle squarewave shaping circuit. Because the leading and trailing edges of the 480 cycle squarewave determine the switching time, these are regulated to occur on the back porch of the horizontal blanking pulse.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 8, a complete diagram of the switcher is shown. The 240' cycle sinewave input passes-through the variable phase shift circuit 81 and is amplified by the amplifier 82. Frequency doubling is performed by applying the signal to a full wave rectifier 83 whose fundamental output frequency is 480 cycles. Harmonicsare removed byabandpass filter. The 480 cycle signal is applied to the amplifying and clipping stage 84 where it is transformed into a steep sided square wave or pulse. The pulse is then applied to the phase splitter 86 whose two outputs are 180 out of phase. The in phase pulse is fed to the suppressor grid of the gating tubes 91, 03, the out of phase is fed to the suppressor grids of the tubes 92, 94.

The 240 cycle signal from the amplifier 82 is also fed to two identical amplifying and clipping means 96 and 97. However, before entering one of these channels, one of the signals is shifted 90 with respect to the other. The output from these two channels is passed through phase splitter 98 and 99 to thereby develop four squarewave signals which are in phase quadrature. These four signals are the four pulses used as enabling or gating pulses for the gating tubes 9194. They are applied to the control grids along with the reproduced signal from the respective pick-up head.

FIGURE 9 shows a block diagram of a suitable blanking switcher. The composite video signal is fed to an amplifier 101 and clipper 102 whose output is made to lock in a 15.75 kc. free running multivibrator 103. Because the trailing edge of this multivibrator pulse controls the switching time, a variable control is provided to adjust the switching time within the back porch interval. A squarewave output of the multivibnato-r 103 is differentiated 104, clipped and amplified 106 to produce a sharp pulse corresponding to the trailing edge of the squarewave. At the same instance, the 480 cycle keying signal from the switcher is clipped, amplified 107, and

applied to the phase splitter 108. The output of the phase splitter is amplified 109 and applied to a phase splitter 111. The 15.7 kc. pulse waveforms are added to the output of the phase splitter through resistors 112 and 113. The sum waveform is then clipped by the clippers 114 and 116 and applied to a multivibrator 117. Triggering is so designed that the pulses from the top channel will cause the multivibrator to flip only one polarity, while pulses from the lower channel cause the multivibrator to flip in the opposite polarity. The first pulse occurring in each group causes the multivibrator to flip. Both edges of the output squarewave correspond in time to the back porch of the video blanking signal.

As previously described, the signalpoutput from the demodulator 76 may have timing and phasing errors which .are intolerable. That is, the demodulated reproduced video signal may not be applied directly to a transa new sub-carrier for transmission in conventional manner.

The instantaneous AFC circuit 121 is shown in greater detail in FIGURE 2. Briefly, the circuit serves to receive the composite signal from the demodulator 76 and to derive a local frequency which is controlled by the preceding color burst. The circuit acts instantaneously to form the local frequency. This signal is employed in modulating circuits to recover the Q and I signals from the composite signal.

The output from the demodulator 76 is applied to a band pass amplifier 122 which may, for example, have an amplification of 100 and a bandwidth of approximately 2.5-4.5 me. The amplified signal from the output of the amplifier 122 is shown at FIGURE 3A. As is well known, the signal includes a horizontal blanking pulse 123 and the video signal information 124. The horizontal blanking pulse 123 includes the horizontal sync pulse 126 and the color buprst 127. As is well known, the color burst has a minimum period of 8 cycles.

The output of the amplifier 122 is applied to a peak clamp and clipper 128 which provides constant amplitude bursts, clean of all other surrounding 3.58 mc. information. The amplitude is less than approximately 80% that of the color burst. As a consequence, the burst amplitude can drop as much as 80% theoretically without effecting the output of the peak clamp and clipper 123. The output of the peak clamp and clipper 128 is illustrated, FIGURE 3B. The interval 131 corresponds to the back porch interval. The interval 132 corresponds to the active scan or video signal interval, the interval 133 corresponds to the front porch interval and the interval 134 corresponds to the burst interval.

The output from the peak clamp and clipper is applied to a ringer 136. The ringer 136 is a moderately high Q circuit, requiring approximately 25 cycles of color burst or about 7 microseconds for complete buildup (also decaying in a like time). This is less than the time between the leading edge of the blanking pulse and the beginning of the color burst, so that no energy from the video signal is carried over in the ringer to the instant when the color burst is applied. The circuit provides a relatively linear buildup during the first 8 cycles of the color bur-st 134, so that the eighth ring of the ringing circuit is the geometric average in both phase and amplitude of the preceding eight color burst cycles. With the Q of the ringing circuit suitably selected, a Waveform of the type illustrated in FIGURE 30 results. Thus, the amplitude of the ringer circuit builds up as illustrated at 137 durign the burst interval and then decays as illustrated at 138. The active scan is represented by the interval 139 and the horizontal blanking period prior to the burst is shown at 141.

Referring to FIGURE 4 an enlanged view of the portions 137 and 138 of the ringer circuit signal is illustrated. Thus, it is seen that the ringing circuit builds up substantially linearly to the eighth cycle and then decays. A gating circuit which serves to select the eighth pulse which contains informationcorresponding to the time average of the preceding eight cycles will be presently described.

The signal is also applied to a sync stripper and amplifier 142 which serves to strip off the horizontal sync pulses and amplify the same. The amplified horizontal sync pulses are applied to a differentiating circuit 143 v and a pulse shaper 144 which serves to give fiat topped positive gating pulses 146, FIGURE 5, immediately fol- 8 lowing the horizontal sync pulses 126. The gating pulses have a duration of approximately 4.4 microseconds (3.50 microseconds-4.75 microseconds maximum).

The gating pulses are applied to a one-shot multivibrator 147. The multivibrator is such that it not trigger without simultaneous application of the pulses 146 on the line 148 and pulses from the peak clamp and clipper 128 on the line 1419. When clean burst-s from the peak clamp and clipper amplifier 128 are applied to the multivibrator 147 along the line 149, the multivibrato-r will trigger as illustrated in FIGURE 5C, curve The multivibrator 147 is a mono-stable multivibrator which has a time constant corresponding to the time lapse of 6 .75 cycles of the color burst plus or minus 45 as indicated by the arrow 152. When the multivibrator 147 reverts to its original state, the rising Waveform 153- is applied to the differentiating circuit 154 which serves to form a sharply rising pulse. The differentiator also includes a clipping means which serves to clip 011 the peak of the spike formed by the differentiating circuit to give a waveform of the type shown at 155, FIGURE 5D. The trailing edge of the wave 155 may vary plus or minus 45 timewise.

The pulse 155 is then applied to the gate 156 and serves to open the same. With the gate 156 open, the positive half-cycle oi the eighth cycle of the color burst is passed through the gate as indicated at 157, FIGURE 5E. The positive wave 157 is applied to a phase splitter 158 which forms a pair of pulses 161, 162. The pulse 161 is passed by the diode 163 and appears on the line 164- as indicated at 166. The pulse 162 is applied to a delay line 167 which serves to delay the transmission of the pulse. The output of the delay line is applied to a diode 168 and the pulse appears at 169. The time lapse between the application of the pulse 166 and the pulse 169 to the line 164 is determined by the delay of the delay line 167 and, for example, in one instance was adjusted to equal 0.3 microseconds.

The pulse 166 serves to change the capacitor 171 in a negative direction as shown at 173 in pulse 172. The condenser then remains charged until the pulse 169 is applied thereto; The pulse 169 discharges the capacitor as indicated at 174. Thus, a squarewave is formed which has a precise pulse duration equal to the time lapse between the pulses 166 and 169, in this instance ()3 microseconds. This duration may be controlled by controlling the delay in the delay line 167.

The pulse 172 is applied to the control grid of amplifier 177 and serves to cut off the amplifier for a period equal .to the period of the pulse. When the amplifier is turned on, the output is applied to a dififerentiating network 175 and thence to delay line 178. The output of the delay line is applied to a cathode follower 179. A feedback signal is applied along the line 181 to the cathode of the amplifier 177 in proper phase for sustaining oscillations. The amplifier oscillates at a frequency which is dependent upon the delay provided by the delay line 173. Operation of the circuit just described is as follows: When the tube is cut off, the plate voltage rises producing a differentiated positive pulse. This pulse is transmitted through the delay line, arriving back at the amplifier while it is still cut off, so it is lost. At the instant of release by pulse 172, the plate voltage of the amplifier suddenly falls, producing a differentiated negative pulse at the input to the delay line. This pulse arrives back atthe input to the amplifier an instant T later,

, determined by the delay time, and is fed into the amplifier,

at the cathode, in such a manner as to reappear at the plate in antiphase to its previous appearance T microseconds earlier. The gain of the amplifier is adjusted so that an oscillation of frequency will be sustained. The oscillator will continue to oscillate until the next pulse 172 appears at the grid of the amplifier.

To form oscillations having a frequency corresponding to the instantaneous frequency of the preceding color burst which is required for line by line demodulation, the delay introduced by the delay line is nominally .279 microseconds, giving a frequency of oscillation of 3.58 me. It is noted that the pulse 172 has a duration slightly longer than one cycle of the 3.58 mc. oscillations whereby the delay line and oscillating circuit are cleared at the end of each scan line to again begin oscillations in proper phase relationship with the controlling color burst.

As previously described, the signal output at the line 182 which is the demodulation frequency having the proper phase relationship with respect to the reproduced signal is applied to a demodulator circuit which serves to demodulate the reproduced signal.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, a suitable demodulation circuit is shown. The circuit is of the well known synchronous detector type and will only be briefly described since such circuits are well known in the art. The output of the demodulator 76 is applied to an amplifier 184, filter 186 and delay line 187 to produce the Y or luminance component of the color signal.

The output of the demodulator 76 is also applied to a filter 191 and then to demodulators 192 and 193. The demodulation frequency (from the AFC oscillator) is applied to the demodulator 192 after a phase delay in the delay line 1% of 90. The output of the demodulator 192 is applied to a filter 196 and forms the Q portion of the chrominance signal. The demodulation frequency is applied directly to the demodulator 193. The output of the demodulator is applied to a filter 197 and a delay line 193 to form the 1 portion of the chrominance signal. The Y, Q and I signals are properly recovered since the phase relationship of the sub-carrier demodulation frequency is adjusted during each scan line in accordance with color burst information.

The reproduced signals may then be applied to a suitable modulator to again form a composite color signal which is suitable for transmission and which does not include the phase errors introduced in the recording and reproducing process.

As previously pointed out, during recordation and reproduction, temperature changes, head wear, expansion and contraction of the tape and the like will introduce timing errors. These errors, in general, may be compensated for over a relatively long period of time.

Another novel feature of the present invention is to provide a circuit which serves to change the frequency of the local oscillator to compensate for such errors. The frequency of oscillation of the novel oscillator is controlled by the delay means 178. The delay means may be any suitable delay means which may be accurately controlled to give a predetermined delay. For example, the delay means may comprise a delay line of the type illustrated in FIGURE 7. The delay line illustrated includes a magnetic core 201 on which is helically Wound a conductor 292 which forms the delay line. Surrounding the turns 202 is dielectric material 203 which has a suitable thickness for setting up a capacitive relationship between the line 202 and the longitudinally running con ductors 204. The complete cable is coated with suitable insulating material 206'. The signal to be delayed is applied to the conductor 262 where it is delayed by the distributed inductance of the line and the distributed capacity between the line 2ti2 and the conductor 204.

By varying the temperature of the delay line, it is possible to control the delay introduced.

The circuit for compensating for frequency changes may include a gate 210 (FIGURE 2) which serves .to pass the output of the oscillator when the gate is open. The gate 210 is controlled by the get-ready signal appearing on the line 148, as previously described. This signal commences at the termination of the horizontal sync pulse and terminates a predetermined period of time thereafter as illustrated in curve 146, FIGURE 5B. Thus, the gate 210 is opened prior to the extinguishing of the oscillator by the pulse 173 and thus will pass a portion of the oscillations for the previous line 211, FIG- URE 6A. The oscillator is then turned off for a predetermined period of time 212 (0.3 microseconds, as previously described). The oscillator then again begins to oscillate with a new phase which is controlled by the termination of the extinguishing pulse 172 as previously described. The oscillations 213 represent the new os cillation. The gate is opened as indicated at 146, FIG- URE 6B. The gate passes the last few cycles of the pulsed oscillation 211 and the first few cycles of the pulsed oscillation 213. The first oscillation is split travelling both through the delay line 217 and along the line 218 where it is applied to a phase comparator. The delay is so adjusted that it delays the pulses of the first pulsed oscillation a sufiicient number of cycles so that they appear at the output of the delay line at the same time as the oscillations 213. The phase comparator 221 serves to compare the frequency of the oscillations and to control a thyratron 222 which supplies pulses to the conductor 204 of delay line 179. The pulses serve to heat the delay line 179 to thereby control the temperature of the same. In general, the thyratron is so adjusted that for stable operation it is firing about 50% of the time. To thereby increase or decrease the frequency of oscillation, the thyratron will fire over a greater or lesser duty cycle. ThC temperature of the delay line is changed accordingly and the oscillator is caused to oscillate at the correct frequency.

Thus, it is seen that a novel recording and reproducing system is provided. The system is not effected by timing and phasing errors introduced by the recording and re production process. The information is recovered line by line by producing an instantaneous local frequency which is used to demodulate each line. Long time changes of frequency are compensated for by a comparison from line to line and controlling the oscillation frequency of the local oscillator in accordance with the frequency changes.

What is claimed is:

1. A system for demodulating a composite color video signal of the type which includes video intelligence, synchronizing pulses and color bursts, comprising means serving to average a predetermined fractional number of cycles of the last-preceding color burst and form a pulse, an oscillator, said oscillator being cut off by said formed pulse for the duration of the pulse whereby the oscillations produced thereby are in fixed phase relationship with the last preceding color burst, and demodulating means serving to receive the composite color signal and pulsed oscillations and serving to demodulate the composite signal to form the component signals from each line of color information.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein said pulsed oscillator is of the delay type.

3. A system for demodulating a composite video signal of the type which includes video intelligence, synchronizing pulses and color bursts, comprising means for averaging a predetermined number of cycles of the last preceding color bunst and forming a cut-off pulse having timing corresponding to the average of said synchronizing pulses, an oscillator, said oscillator being cut off by said cut-off pulse for the duration thereof to thereby generate oscillations having a phase which corresponds to the last preceding color burst, means for comparing the last portion of one pulsed oscillation with the first portion of the next succeeding pulsed oscillation and serving to form a control signal, means serving to receive the control signal and serving to control the frequency of operation of said pulsed oscillator, and demodulating means serving to receive the composite color signal and the local pulsed frequency signal and serving to form the component signals from the composite video color information.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said pulsed oscillator is of the delay type.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4 wherein said delay type oscillator includes a vacuum tube amplifier, a cathode follower connected to the output of said amplifier, and a feedback circuit including a delay line serving to feed back from the cathode follower stage to the amplifier stage to thereby form an oscillator which oscillates in accordance with the delay introduced by the delay line.

6. In a system of the character described in which a composite video signal including video intelligence, synchronizing pulses and color bursts is recorded on magnetic tape, the record being in the form of successive tracks extending cross-wise of the tape and spaced in the direction of the length of the tape, means for reproducing the recording comprising a head adapted to rotate at a predetermined speed, a plurality of circumferentially spaced magnetic transducer units carried by the head and adapted to successively sweep across the tape, means serving to 8. In a system of the character described in which a composite video signal including video intelligence, synchronizing pulses and color bursts is recorded on magnetic tape, the record being in the form of successive tracks extending cross-Wise of the tape and spaced in the direction of the length of the tape, means for reproducing the recording comprising a head adapted to rotate at a predetermined speed, a plurality of circumferentially spaced magnetic transducer units carried by the head and adapted to successively sweep across the tape, means for averaging a predetermined number of cycles of the last preceding color burst and forming a pulse having a timing corresponding to the average of said color burst, an oscillator, said oscillator being cut off by said pulse for the duration thereof to generate oscillations having a phase which corresponds to the last-preceding color burst, means for comparing the last portion of one pulsed oscillation with the first portion of the next succeeding pulsed oscillation and serving to form a control signal, means serving to receive the control signal and serving to control the frequency of oscillation of said pulsed oscillator, and demodulating means serving to receive the reproduced recording and the local pulsed oscillations and serving to demodulate the reproduced signal to form the component signals from the composite video color information.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,979,557 Schroeder Apr. 11, 1961 

1. A SYSTEM FOR DEMODULATING A COMPOSITE COLOR VIDEO SIGNAL OF THE TYPE WHICH INCLUDES VIDEO INTELLIGENCE, SYNCHRONIZING PULSES AND COLOR BURSTS, COMPRISING MEANS SERVING TO AVERAGE A PREDETERMINED FRACTIONAL NUMBER OF CYLCES OF THE LAST-PREDETERMINED COLOR BURST AND FROM A PULSE, AN OSCILLATOR, SAID OSCILLATOR BEING CUT OFF BY SAID FORMED PULSE FOR THE DURATION OF THE PULSE WHEREBY THE OSCILLATIONS PRODUCED THEREBY ARE IN FIXED PHASE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LAST PRECEDING COLOR BURST, AND DEMODULATING MEANS SERVING TO RECEIVE THE COMPOSITE COLOR SIGNAL AND PULSED OSCILLATIONS AND SERVING TO DEMODULATE THE COMPOSITE SIGNAL TO FORM THE COMPONENT SIGNALS FROM EACH LINE OF COLOR INFORMATION. 